Recently in SPOTS Category

SPOTS! SPOTS! SPOTS! Fame, Glory, Awards + The Party. Enter Now.

Illustration is changing, showing up in unexpected ways, blurring borders, reinventing itself as a medium for bold expression in the digital age. Tightening budgets are breeding creative solutions. Digital publishing i smoking away from the stifling proliferation of photographic syndication, stock imagery, and sameness. Illustrators are moving to the forefront, providing the character and dynamism needed to stand out in a crowd of predictability.

And they're doing it with SPOTS.

The static full-page illustration is no longer the standard of excellence. In both printed and digital publications, the most exciting illustration weaves its way into the fabric of the story, makes trends tangible, tells the deeper truth, communicates identities, and often wins the spotlight for itself.

SPOTS honors the illustrations that outshine all the others when the spotlight comes around.

SPD is the only organization to honor this exciting, evolving artform with its annual SPOTS competition, a part of our mission to promote the best in editorial design, today and every day. Commissioned work by publications of any kind (printed or digital, paper or screen) is awarded, along with UNcommissioned work, pieces published only by you, the illustrator.

Download the forms and Call for Entries after the jump...
… MORE

COMPETITION CLOSED // SPOTS 2010: The Call for Entries. Medals! A Book! A Party! Enter now.

(Please note: this competition is closed. For the current SPOTS competition, please see this post.  --  The Editors)

Illustration is changing, showing up in unexpected ways, blurring borders, reinventing itself as a medium for bold expression in the digital age. Tightening budgets are breeding creative solutions. Online publishing initially brought a stifling proliferation of photographic syndication, stock imagery, sameness. Now illustrators are moving to the forefront, providing the character and dynamism needed to stand out in a crowd of predictability.

And they're doing it with SPOTS.
… MORE

SPOTS! The 2009 Competition Begins...

"Spot" illustrations may be small in size, but they play an enormous role in the world of publication design. Measuring no more than 5 x 6 inches, a spot much catch readers' eyes, draw them into a story, and convey complex ideas--often while competing with other visual elements on the page.

The Society of Publication Designers is the only organization to honor these hard-working little gems with its annual SPOTS Competition. Chaired this year by Matthew Lenning, Design Director at Bon Appétit, and Don Morris, Principal at Don Morris Design, SPOTS will be judged by a panel of leading publication art directors and commercial illustrators, with the winning entries will be featured in a special, self-contained book and sent to SPD members and winning illustrators for FREE, as well as featured in the PUB 44 Design Annual, and archived in a special gallery on this very site, linking to the winning illustrator's websites.

Read on for all the details, the call for entries, and links to past winners...

*Big thanks to Yuko Shimizu for the illustration on the Call for Entries, above!
… MORE